Tony Cheng of Al-Jazeera pays a visit to Zhongdian County (中甸县) — which was renamed Shangri-La (香格里拉县) in 2001 to attract tourists — and finds that it is far from the mystical, harmonious valley as described by the British author in his 1933 novel Lost Horizon. Although the town is located hundreds of miles away from Lhasa, where riots earlier this year threatened to spoil the show for the Beijing Olympics, a heavy, military presence is on hand to ensure that violence doesn't break out again. more ›